CALGARY sexual assault lawyer

There are many categories of "assault". A less serious kind of assault is "common assault". A more serious kind of assault is assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assaulting a police officer. In the assault taxonomy, "sexual assault" carries the most serious stigma. Today, sexual assault is garnering increased attention by the news media and special interest groups.

There are also secondary categories of assault. For example, a person can be charged with an assault in a domestic context. Sexual assault can also be prosecuted as a "domestic sexual assault". This situation often involves allegations against persons within a household.

In our common law, there is also a category of sexual assault called "major sexual assault". A major sexual assault is defined by Courts of Appeal as a sexual assault involving penetration. Accordingly, if the allegation is intercourse, digital penetration or oral sex, the category of assault is "major". A major sexual assault usually triggers a starting point jail sentence if convicted of 3 years in a Federal penitentiary.

What makes a sexual assault different that a non-sexual assault?

Sexual assault involves a touching that is intended to be sexual in nature. With that in mind, accidentally touching somebody in the genital area may not be sexual assault, but touching a person on any part of their body with sexual intent could be sexual assault.

what are the defences to sexual assault?

If you have been charged with a sexual assault in Calgary, Alberta or anywhere else, it is imperative that you hire a sexual assault lawyer to evaluate all potential defences. Some typical defences are "consent" and "honest but mistaken belief in consent". In some cases, the allegations are simply false. Whatever the case, the consequences for the accused are high. Not only does the accused face the social stigma and possible jail, but he or she may be registered on the Sexual Offender Information Registry.

David Chow has run hundreds of trials in his legal career. If you have been charged with a sexual assault in Alberta, call for a free telephone consultation. David is a Calgary sexual assault lawyer of choice. Don't choose just any criminal lawyer, choose the right one. Choose wisely.

403.452.8018

Recent Case Results

R. v. D.J.J.

February 21, 2020

(Whitehorse, S.C.). DJJ was charged with aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm arising out of an incident at an establishment in Whitehorse, Yukon. The injuries were serious. The case was scheduled for trial at the Supreme Court of Whitehorse. The primary legal issue in the case revolved around principles relating to the assessing the credibility of the accused and evaluating the whole of the case "beyond a reasonable doubt". In this case, the Crown also tried to argue that the accused had a motive to assault the complainant. The accused hired Calgary criminal lawyer, David Chow, to defend him at trial. The trial lasted four days. The trial was highlighted by the judge excluding the evidence of motive. In the end, the trial judge had serious issues with the credibility and reliability of the crown's primary witness and found the accused "not guilty" of all charges. David Chow is an Alberta criminal lawyer who appears in jurisdictions with the Province and outside of it. David has defended clients in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory. He has also appeared at all levels of court, including the Provincial and Superior Courts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the Territorial Court of Yukon, the Superior Court of Yukon, the Alberta Court of Appeal, Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Looking for a Whitehorse criminal lawyer, consider giving David Chow a call. He offers a free telephone consultation.

R. v. Z.Z.D.

January 17, 2020

(Cochrane, P.C.). ZZD was charged with a very historical sexual assault. In Canada, there is no limitation period for the Crown to prosecute an Indictable offence; meaning that a prosecution can be commenced years, even decades after the alleged incident. Not surprisingly, this kind of situation is extremely prejudicial to the accused, who as a result of the passage of time may no longer have access to witnesses, defence materials or even an accurate memory. Studies on the human brain confirm that a persons memory is really little more than a reconstruction of perception and experience that is susceptible to deterioration over time. It is even possible for the narrative of an event to become so tainted by interference of other memories and time that remembered event may have little or no correspondence to what actually transpired. Assessing credibility and reliability of evidence in our criminal justice system is arguably an antiquated and somewhat obtuse process that in the view of this Cochrane criminal lawyer in some cases may lend to wrongful conviction. With this in mind, there are simply too many risks to trial and as such, if a case can be resolved without trial, any accused should strongly consider the options. In this case ZZD resolved without any admission of guilt and the charges were withdrawn. If you are searching for a criminal lawyer in Alberta to help you assess your options, research Alberta criminal lawyers and consider calling Calgary criminal lawyer, David Chow, for a free telephone consultation.

R. v. P.T.P.

January 10, 2020

(Calgary, P.C.). PTP is a case that illustrates non-trial options to successfully defending a criminal prosecution. PTP was charged with assault in relation to an incident that involved security guards. From reviewing disclosure, which included video from the Crown and video solely in the possession of the accused's counsel, PTP had a very meritorious case of self defence. However, as an Alberta criminal defence lawyer who appeared on cases throughout this province, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Territories, David Chow is aware that our criminal justice system is far from perfect or fair. Though none of us want to believe that wrongful convictions don't happen or are incredibly rare, the reality is that this not likely the truth. Keep in mind that the wrongful conviction cases in Canada have almost in every case been exposed in high profile homicide prosecutions -- usually by DNA analysis (an evidence collection procedure generally utilized in only the most serious of crimes). With this in mind, when PTP was offered to resolve by Alternative Measures -- a program that if successfully completed would guarantee no criminal record -- the offer could not be passed-up. In Canada, the principle of Occam's razor is usually the most prudent way to approach a criminal case; that is to say, the path of least resistance is the path that should be taken. For a free consultation with a proven Calgary criminal lawyer, call David Chow for a free telephone consultation. When hiring a defence lawyer, it is your responsibility to do your due diligence.

R. v. H.A.H.

December 29, 2019

(Calgary Y.C.). David Chow is a not only a Calgary criminal lawyer who handles adult charges, he is a full service Calgary defence lawyer who defends young persons charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. As a full service defence lawyer, David defends all Criminal Code offences and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act charges. In this case, the young person was charged with simple assault arising from a fight between two youths. What is important to remember about Canada's young offender's legislation is that it is not only balanced in favour of rehabilitation -- for we do not want to subject young people to the deleterious consequences of imprisonment -- it has a range of non-criminal record alternatives that may be used to address the young person under charge. For example, police have the option to sanction a young person without exposing them to court. A sanction would not result in a criminal record. In court, judges have the option to judicially reprimand the young person. This option also would not result in a criminal record. Similar to the adult Alternative Measures Program, young persons may be admitted into a similar program called Extra Judicial Sanctions. In this case, the assault allegation and the facts in support of it fell clearly into the kind of situation whereby Extra Judicial Sanctions was appropriate. H.A.H.'s Calgary criminal lawyer managed to obtain access to this program as part of a plea resolution. This was touch-and-go because the first Crown rejected the accused's request even though no disclosure was available for review. A different Crown properly agreed to H.A.H.'s participation in the program. This accused attended every court appearance on his own and successfully completed the program well within its time requirements. As a result, the charges were withdrawn. There are many Calgary criminal lawyers -- it is your responsibility to be duly diligent in choosing your defence lawyer. Call David Chow for a free consultation.